Frost for a Thousand Years

Chapter 316 A brutal beating of the tycoon!
Sheng'an, the Imperial Palace.

The elderly emperor sat on his throne, and the crown prince sat opposite him.

At this moment, Wei Yiyun was no longer as timid as before; his posture was more natural and relaxed, and he displayed a majestic appearance.

Their wings have truly hardened.

However, this appearance did not offend the emperor.

He chose his own successor, so he has to accept it no matter what.

"I've heard that you've been doing well lately."

Since appointing the crown prince as regent, the emperor has stopped interfering in state affairs.

The crown prince never reported this to him.

It can be said that he is completely capable of handling things on his own.

Today's meeting was initiated by the emperor himself.

“Father,” the Crown Prince said calmly, “I have done everything according to your teachings.”

"Very good." The emperor picked up the teacup, took a slow sip, and then put it aside.

Grandpa Xi bowed and accepted it with both hands.

Then, they left the place.

And he dismissed all the palace maids and eunuchs.

Outside the gate, only one Imperial Guard with a knife remained.

"Father."

The Crown Prince knew his father's personality well; Ye Changqing had repeatedly told him, "Be decisive in your actions, but always be humble in your attitude." So he took the initiative to ask, "Will the officials be dissatisfied?"

"What do you see?" the emperor asked.

"On that day at court, the Duke of Li and Minister Sun looked at each other in shock. After the court session, I heard that the two walked side by side for a while," the Crown Prince said.

"It's time for the two of them to get together," the emperor said casually.

"Are they targeting me?" the Crown Prince asked. "They wouldn't dare do this when Father was alive."

Sensing the flattery and praise in his words, the emperor didn't bother to accept it: "It's because I handed the problem over to you that they reacted this way. If I continue to hold the throne and personally manage the land reclamation, they won't give me any more face."

“Father is not leaving the problem to me… On the contrary, Father has already laid the foundation for me.” The Crown Prince lowered his head and said very respectfully, “What I am doing now is the simplest thing.”

He wasn't wrong about that.

The emperor has already trained Song Shi'an.

Just use it directly.

"But the simplest things are the hardest to do."

The emperor raised a finger, a smirk playing on his lips, and said mysteriously to him, "Don't you know everything?"

"Father, please give me your guidance."

The crown prince feigned a somewhat fearful expression.

"You have ordered Song Shi'an to expand the scale of the military farms, doubling the number of people involved," the emperor asked. "Why?"

"Your Majesty is wise." After being directly exposed, the Crown Prince could only admit, "Expanding the scale of military farms was Song Shi'an's wish, so I granted his wish, but it is indeed true that the national treasury cannot support it..."

"So, you've got your eye on his four daughters," the emperor joked.

Sheng'an was in charge of the nation's accounts, and Sizhou was the closest to Sheng'an. How could the Crown Prince not know the situation there?

It is absolutely impossible for Song Shi'an to conjure up food out of thin air to supply such a large population.

We can only buy grain with money.

But the imperial court didn't provide any money.

Therefore, he had no choice but to use the four thousand gold coins he had just received from the emperor to get through the winter.

“He doesn’t have to use his own money, as long as he can support so many people.”

The Crown Prince gave a calm reply.

After he finished speaking, the emperor smiled. The crown prince also smiled at him.

There's no such thing as your money or my money; it's all my money.

Besides, it was your idea to establish military farms, so you should figure out a way to do it yourself.

"But," the emperor cautioned, "even if we use these four thousand taels of gold, it still won't be enough."

Hearing this, the Crown Prince was taken aback, and explained, "I've roughly calculated it, and the grain in this area, plus Song Shi'an's four thousand taels of gold, should be just enough..."

"There is no error in the arithmetic."

The emperor shook his head and said, "But you haven't taken human nature into account."

.........

Xin Yue was completely dumbfounded.

Looking at the huge empty warehouse, and then back at the dozens of sacks of grain outside, he immediately exclaimed angrily, "Are you going to use this grain to feed these eight thousand tenant farmers?!"

It's simply unbelievable.

Let alone eight thousand tenant farmers, this amount of grain should barely be enough for the officials in the yamen to use as their rations.

Besides, they can't afford to support even one homeless person.

If Song Shi'an really goes to Jianxing and can't manage things here, then in winter, countless people will be displaced and starve to death, unless...

"The grain, those powerful families in the county bought it all at exorbitant prices." Zhang Cun, kneeling on the ground, bowed his head like a dead dog. "They said that if the Prefect sends someone to investigate, they will bribe the Inspector, and even if it really goes into the warehouse, they will borrow grain from the county government to pass the inspection..."

Song Shi'an looked down at the man and smiled coldly: "The wealthy landowners hold onto the grain and refuse to sell it. The common people go hungry, and when winter comes, they are forced to rely on the wealthy landowners again and take the initiative to increase the land rent and reduce their share."

"You're a beast!" Xin Yue clenched her fists, wishing she could kill this corrupt official on the spot.

"..." Zhang Cun was somewhat frightened, so he explained in a low voice, "The grain and account books of Cishan did not match when I took office."

"You mean, you didn't sell it?" Song Shi'an asked.

"No, I dare not," Zhang Cun said with difficulty. "I sold more than half of them, but I truly do not know about the rest."

"What about the money from the sale?" Xinyue asked.

“Your Excellency, Cishan has not received its pay for many years. I did receive some, but the rest has already been distributed…” Zhang Cun said urgently, “Please give me some time, and I can gather half of it to hand over!”

"Half?" Xin Yue asked rhetorically.

"..." Zhang Cun revealed a painful expression, struggling greatly.

Xinyue understood now.

He did indeed embezzle the assets of Cishan.

But what actually reaches them is probably less than half of the embezzled assets.

or even less.

“Since they bought the grain at a high price, why don’t you go to another county, buy the grain at a lower price, and then transport it back?” Xin Yue asked.

Zhang Cun: "..."

Before Zhang Cun could even stammer out a word, Song Shi'an uttered something that sent chills down her spine: "The grain from the other counties has also been bought up."

"These beasts really deserve to be killed." Xin Yue was furious. "Let's start with this one."

"My lord!" Zhang Cun knew he was doomed if he continued to resist, so he simply confessed, "Originally, I would rather die than comply, but..."

"shut up!"

Before he could finish speaking, Song Shi'an interrupted, "You are the magistrate of Cishan County. Regardless of the previous accounts, the grain inventory is empty under your jurisdiction. Therefore, I want to see the grain back up to the amount recorded in the ledger!"

“…” Zhang Cun was dumbfounded.

Xin Yue was also quite puzzled, but she didn't ask any questions.

Looking into Song Shi'an's eyes, Zhang Cun knew that if he didn't agree, his whole family would die. So he quickly kowtowed and said, "Thank you for your forgiveness, Lord! I will do my utmost to find all the grain and refill the granary!"

"Walk."

Song Shi'an turned and left immediately.

Xinyue followed suit.

Meanwhile, the county magistrate inside the warehouse continued to kowtow vigorously.

As soon as they left the warehouse, they saw the young master who had just fainted.

"Your Excellency! I was blind and did not recognize you. Please punish me!" He knelt down and begged for mercy, his voice trembling with tears. "I really didn't know it was you... I am willing to cut off my own hands to ask for Your Excellency's forgiveness."

Song Shi'an simply smiled and ignored him, walking right past him.

After Xinyue received the fish-shaped talisman and the bundle, she followed him away.

This terrified the officials, who trembled with fear and dared not utter a sound.

However, after leaving, Xinyue was still a little confused, so she asked with considerable puzzlement, "You're just leaving like that? Aren't you afraid they'll run away?"

“Now, everyone in the county government is in the same boat. Unless they all manage to escape, they are all doomed,” Song Shi’an said calmly.

They have families, and if they get involved, they'll also face certain death.

“You’re not afraid they’ll run away, but…” Xin Yue still didn’t understand, “Just now, he was about to reveal who was behind them, so why didn’t you listen?”

"The so-called big shots behind the scenes are nothing more than some slightly higher-ranking bureaucrats, and behind every bureaucrat is a powerful backer," Song Shi'an countered. "Are we going to trace it all the way back to someone like Minister Sun?"

“But you’re not the kind of person who’s afraid of trouble,” Xinyue said.

“Yes, I can handle whoever they find,” Song Shi’an said firmly. “But I don’t need to kill anyone right now, I just need food!”

An investigation can certainly uncover the truth. Killing can also eliminate some of the smaller karaomi.

But now, eight thousand people in Cishan County need to survive and break away from the wealthy households.

"Do you think he can get the grain back?" Xin Yue couldn't tell that Zhang Cun was such a capable person.

“Him,” Song Shi’an smiled, “will live.”

.........

County government office.

The magistrate, still shaken, sat on the throne, his face deathly pale and his hands trembling.

Below them are all the officials currently serving as the county magistrate.

The captain also rushed over and stood in the middle.

The atmosphere was very heavy at that moment.

The fact that the granary was empty was not known only to the county magistrate.

Almost everyone was dragged into it.

Of course, it can't be said that they were coerced, because everyone received a share of the money.

"Anyone who dares to utter a single word about Lord Song's arrival will have their entire family wiped out."

Zhang Cun's first words were a warning.

Everyone nodded in agreement, not daring to have the slightest doubt.

“Now, go and inform those wealthy households that Lord Song has arrived at Cishan Post Station and will be coming to the county town within two days. Tell them to lend us the grain so that the Lord Song won’t have to inspect it.” Zhang Cun glanced at them and reminded them, “Tell those wealthy households that if this matter is exposed, given the Lord Song’s personality, no one will be able to escape responsibility.”

Although the wealthy households paid money to buy grain, it did not mean that this was a legal business.

Selling off grain from the imperial granary, even if it's not a case of both buying and selling being punished equally, is still going against the government.

"After we borrow the grain and get through the prefect's inspection..." the clerk asked nervously, "what should we do next?"

"To appease the Prefect's inspection?" The magistrate sneered and said sternly, "That's to take back the grain from the treasury to support the Prefect's grand plan of land reclamation."

"That won't do!" The county constable realized that the magistrate was planning to double-cross them, and quickly waved his hand, saying, "If the grain from those wealthy households isn't returned, and they cause trouble... if it involves other officials, we might face utter destruction!"

Fear was written all over everyone's face.

No one would dare to do something like that.

Let's take an easy-to-understand example.

You are the top official in a certain county.

What would happen if you led all the county officials and local government officials to raid the homes of all the local tycoons?
Nobody has the guts.

“The money was given to you back then,” Zhang Cun said. “Each of you must contribute more than double the amount you paid back then.”

"Even so, we can only raise half at most," the clerk said with difficulty after doing some mental calculations. "We can only supplement half of the money for those big spenders."

"Half?" Zhang Cun said coldly. "According to market prices, isn't that all that grain is worth?"

The wealthy households bought the grain from the county government at high prices.

The county government redeemed the grain from wealthy households at market price.

The most classic case of double-crossing.

Commonly known as robbery.

The result was that everyone lost out.

Apart from those high-ranking officials who accepted large bribes.

but……

"Sir, this won't do, people will die!" The county constable still resisted.

The county magistrate was indeed the most powerful person in the county.

But that doesn't mean he can rob at will and offend all the wealthy families.

"You, you, and all of you. Of course, and me too."

Raising his finger, Zhang Cun called out names repeatedly, then pointed to himself and said, "If the grain doesn't come back, we'll all die."

.........

After leaving the city, Song Shi'an and Xin Yue turned back along that road.

And by the roadside, they encountered that Ms. Ma.

She was very surprised when she saw the two of them: "What? How did you two get out!"

"I reported Song Shi'an to the county magistrate, but I was kicked out before I even saw him. He even accused me of trying to freeload and just chased me away," Song Shi'an explained.

“That’s good…” Ma said. “You’re really lucky. Zhang Cunping is usually not so kind.”

"Is he a corrupt official?" Song Shi'an asked.

“Since Cishan County is so poor, the magistrate must be a corrupt official,” Ma said. “Moreover, it’s not that no one knows about his collusion with those wealthy families.”

"I see," Song Shi'an said.

"Stop cursing Song Shi'an, it really has nothing to do with him," Ma sighed. "He may have a good heart, but he's too naive and doesn't know what kind of life ordinary people are living."

“If someone doesn’t even know how ordinary people live, then he’s either stupid or evil,” Song Shi’an commented.

"You're very young, and you look like you're just starting out and are poor."

Sister Ma patted his shoulder and smiled: "Song Shi'an was born the young master of Sheng'an. Although he went to the border to fight and had some experience, how could he know that even in the vicinity of the capital, where there is no disaster or war, people can still starve to death."

Both of them remained silent.

coo.

Song Shi'an's stomach growled.

"Young man, come on, it's getting late. Why don't you come to my house for the night and have something to eat?" Sister Ma took the initiative to lead the two of them into her home.

"But do you still have any grain at home?" Xinyue asked with concern.

"Let's get through tonight first. If we really run out of food, we'll find a way..." After saying this in a rather optimistic way, Ma asked curiously, "So where are you planning to go tomorrow?"

“Jianxing,” Song Shi’an said.

“Oh, I heard that Song Shi’an will be taking office soon,” Ma said. “Maybe he will really be able to get food when he goes there.”

“Come with us, and take your children with you,” Xinyue said.

"Song Shi'an might be a good official..."

In response, Ma waved his hand and said, "But even a good official can't ensure that everyone has enough to eat."

Xin Yue wanted to say something more, but Song Shi'an changed the subject, saying, "Sister, I'm hungry."

"Okay, let's go."

And so, the two went to Widow Ma's house and ate some hot porridge.

I spent the night in a thatched hut with Sister Ma and a few children. Then, in the morning, I found a boatman at the ferry crossing and left Cishan County.

Today, the grain belonging to various wealthy households has also been borrowed back by the county government to temporarily replenish the granaries to cope with inspections.

After all, it was true that Song Shi'an's caravan had arrived at the post station; no one expected that he would actually be targeted by him.

However, Lord Song did not visit the county town.

Moreover, even after Song Shi'an's caravan had left the post station, the county magistrate still showed no intention of returning the grain.

Finally, after repeated urging, all the major investors realized the problem...

"You bastard! Give the grain back!"

"What do you mean by buying it at market price? We didn't pay that much for the grain!"

"Zhang Cun, this is robbery! Aren't you afraid I'll report you to Sheng'an?"

"You corrupt official! Come out here right now!"

The wealthy households who had purchased grain from the government granary in Cishan County, along with their clansmen and servants, numbering in the hundreds, simply surrounded the county government office.

Only seven or eight yamen runners stood guard, trembling with fear.

Just then, the doors of the county government office were suddenly opened.

However, more than fifty strong men armed with knives, spears, and shields rushed out.

Upon seeing this, the servants and clansmen of the wealthy household all retreated.

After all, the county government's armory was not usually opened to distribute weapons to able-bodied men.

The only options are to suppress bandits or crack down on civilian explosives.

At this moment, Zhang Cun slowly stepped forward.

"Zhang Cun!" At this moment, an old man shouted, "You sold the grain, and you embezzled the money. Now you're committing such acts of robbery. Aren't you afraid I'll report you to Sheng'an?!"

Upon hearing this, Zhang Cun immediately knelt down, leaving them stunned.

Then, Zhang Cun clasped his hands together, faced the horizon, and said righteously with a choked voice, "All of this is for Lord Song's grand plan of land reclamation. Let me bear the infamy!"

Everyone: "?"

Slowly, Zhang Cun stood up and raised his hand: "Hit."

The next moment, more than sixty armed men, including the young master's son, began to brutally beat the troublemakers at Cishan...

(End of this chapter)